According to Jan Blachowicz, beating Alex Pereira will earn him another shot at gold.
Blachowicz (29-9-1 MMA, 12-6 UFC) takes on Pereira (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the UFC 291 co-main event on July 29 at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City.
The former light heavyweight champion isn’t sure if this matchup was part of the UFC’s plans anyway, but says he asked to welcome Pereira to 205 pounds – and he got his wish.
“When I heard that he would come to our division, I just want to fight against him,” Blachowicz said on The MMA Hour. “I talked with my manager and they did this fight. It was easy. I said, ‘OK, give it to me.’ Why not?”
Blachowicz is no stranger to spoiling divisional debuts. Blachowicz handed middleweight champion Israel Adesanya his first loss when he stopped his bid to become a dual champ at UFC 259. He also knocked Luke Rockhold out cold when he attempted to seek new life at 205 pounds.
“I think this is my job in the UFC sometimes,” Blachowicz said. “I need to do it in the best way – to send him back to (middleweight).”
Blachowicz expects former middleweight champion Pereira’s power to translate to light heavyweight, but plans on shutting him down.
“For sure, he’s going to have power – but what I always say: If you change weight category, you can spar in your gym with the bigger guys. But when you fight, it’s completely different,” Blachowicz said. “Timing, speed – everything is different. Three times, I fight before with the guys from the lower division and I won everything. This time will be the same.”
Blachowicz is coming off a split draw against Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant title at UFC 282 this past December. If he gets past Pereira, the Polish fighter says he’s been promised a title shot.
“If I win the fight, my next fight will be for the title,” Blachowicz said. “It’s bigger motivation for me, and thanks to Alex that he moved to our category: new blood.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
